In a small business where you don’t have a lot of staff, if one of them has a problem then you all have a problem. And while you might have the greatest bunch of employees a business owner could ask for, there are always going to be times when personalities clash or one of your staff begins to act in a way which causes disruption. So what can you do about it? When dealing with problem staff it’s good to have policies in place and to be mindful of a few things.
Differentiate behaviour and attitude
It can be grating dealing with someone who has a negative attitude. They often seem to go out of their way to point out why things won’t work. It can be even worse when that negative attitude is focused on another staff member, or a particular aspect of their job.
But having a negative attitude isn’t something you, as an employer, can actually change. Instead try to focus on whether that attitude is affecting their behaviour, and work to change the behaviour.
For example, if two of your staff really don’t get on, you cannot make them like each other. It’s just not going to happen. And if, despite this, they are still able to work together in the office, then there’s no reason for you to get involved.
If their negative attitude towards each other affects their behaviour, that’s another matter. You would be wise to take the two warring parties, sit them down, and discuss how the two are going to behave to be able to get their jobs done. Again, you won’t be able to change their attitudes, but you should be able to change their workplace behaviour.
Pick your battles
Dealing with a problem employee takes time, effort, and a willingness by both parties to come to a mutually beneficial arrangement. Doing this on top of running a small business means either working overtime or that something else drops off the to-do list.
So it’s important to decide what problem behaviour really matters to you and your business.
A classic example is an employee who is always late in. Not just a few minutes, but hours. Your other employees may look in askance at you when they’re all present at 8:30 and Mr Late shows up at 10:00.
But is that behaviour affecting your business? If Mr Late stays past 7:00pm every day to put his hours in, gets work done on time, and shows up when it matters (like meetings and presentations) - does it matter that he’s not in his seat at 8:30?
You may decide that workplace cohesion is worth the effort it will take to get Mr Late to arrive when everyone else does, or you may decide that until his work performance suffers you just let him be. Explain to the rest of your staff that he’s working his hours and meeting his KPIs, he’s just doing it a couple of hours later than them.
Deal with serious problems fast
There are times when you do need to get involved early, and make sure that problem behaviour is nipped in the bud. If that mutual dislike between staff boils over into bullying by one or the other, you’ll need to interfere. If your workplace comedian keeps making sexually inappropriate jokes, they need to be told to cut it out quickly.
Workplace bullying and sexual harassment are serious matters. Although you may feel like what’s going on is something that your staff, as adults, can work out between themselves – you still need to get involved.
If one of your staff brings a case of bullying or harassment to the ERA you could find yourself liable for fostering a hostile work environment, even though you yourself didn’t do anything to create it. So take complaints seriously and be proactive when you think one of your employees is stepping over the line.